Target cuts 475 jobs in Minnesota offices

The sign outside the Target store is seen in Arvada, Colorado January 10, 2014. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Target Corp (TGT.N) said on Wednesday that it is cutting 475 jobs at its headquarters and other offices in Minnesota and will not fill 700 open positions worldwide.

The company, which employs 361,000 people around the globe, had a tough 2013 as U.S. shoppers remained cautious and its new Canadian stores did not do as well as it had anticipated.

Target faced more pressure during the holiday season when it fell victim to a cyber attack that led to the theft of payment card numbers and personal data of tens of millions of its shoppers.

“We believe these decisions, while difficult, are the right actions as we continue to focus on transforming our business,” Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said on Wednesday.

She declined to provide details of the jobs being cut or the positions being left open.

In early January, Target, the third largest U.S. retailer, cut its fourth-quarter profit forecast, in part due to weaker-than-expected sales since reports of the cyber-attack emerged in mid-December. Target expects full-year earnings to include charges related to the data breach, but said it could not estimate the costs.

Just days after the breach became public, lawyers and retail consultants told Reuters the data theft could end up costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Target shares closed down 0.4 percent at $58.98 on the New York Stock Exchange.